Floral and Fiber: Now, That's the Life!

Meet Kelly

My Mom taught me to knit when I was six. I made doll-sized blankets and tiny items for my Barbie dolls. Many years later, I learned how to spin fibers into yarn and revived my love of knitting and even taught myself to crochet. Crocheting wasn’t difficult for me because I had watched my Mom and Grandmother crochet lots of pieces.

I became a test knitter after having our baby (it was great to work from home!) and eventually fell into the liaison position communicating between designers and test knitters. One day, I was asked if I’d like to design a booklet of baby bootie patterns. Would I?! And A Dozen Baby Booties was born.

My First BookletPlenty of great choices for boys too!

I tried marketing my own line of patterns and was successful at that for a little while. They were printed on card stock and were 5.5″ x 8.5″ – a more compact size than the usual patterns at the time. Hobby Lobby was my biggest customer!

The producers at DIY Network’s “Knitty Gritty,” noticed my patterns and invited me to tape 2 shows. We made a family vacation out of it and flew to Burbank, CA. It was so much fun working with Vickie Howell and everyone on the set. It went well! My fuzzy dice and steering wheel cover as well as my jewelry designs were a hit! A trip to Disneyland was in order.

Some of my designs have been in magazines like Bead Unique and knit.1. More of my pieces can be seen in Jewelry with a Hook(that’s my design the model is wearing on the cover!) and Material World(check out the Beachcomber Rug).

The latest? I’m a certified teacher of knitting, crocheting, and beading classes at Michaels Arts & Crafts in Springfield, VA. I work there part-time as a floral designer. I also lead a group of elementary students in an after-school knitting club. I’m so proud of them!